Barbara McAnnany GS '12 was named an outstanding nurse by "Mpls.St.Paul Magazine."

This summer, Bethel University alum Barbara McAnnany GS ’12 was named one of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s 2012 Outstanding Nurses. McAnnany was one of 20 winners from the Twin Cities area. According to the magazine, the awards recognize “the unsung heroes of health care.” McAnnany and the other award recipients were recognized during a special event this summer and in the July 2012 issue of the magazine.

McAnnany, who earned her master’s degree in nursing leadership, completed her capstone project and oral defense in September and hopes to use her degree to help disadvantaged people. “During a class on future health care trends, I developed a desire to work in a leadership role at a non-profit medical clinic,” she states. She will begin exploring this new type of work by participating in a medical mission trip to Honduras in January. She says, “I am excited to use my skills in preoperative and postoperative orthopedic care.”

McAnnany explains that her master’s degree at Bethel gave her new a perspective on her options for nursing leadership. “My education at Bethel has opened my eyes to a number of directions I can go and has given me the tools and resources to pursue a leadership role in nursing. I truly benefited from the depth and range of all the classes I took.”

For now, McAnnany continues to work as a charge nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center Sports Surgery, an orthopedic surgery center, where she worked while she completed her graduate degree. A colleague at Sports Surgery nominated her for the Outstanding Nurse award. After the nomination, she was interviewed about her work and education, and evaluated based on “professionalism, bedside manner and patient interaction, credentials and experience, and impact on organizations,” according to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. “It was great to hear about the many talented nurses who are working in and around the Twin Cities. I felt humbled to be included in this group,” says McAnnany.